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Recommendations for Japan Travel

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Re: Recommendations for Japan Travel

#191

Post by michaelt »

bentlegen wrote: post #153
mc32 wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn’t look like it. Poster differentiates tourists going in to enjoy places and people who fly in to use places as backdrops for something else. In other words the new tourists isn’t going in to enjoy a place for themselves but does it to amuse people elsewhere and couldn’t care much about actually taking in the places they visit.

He or she preferred a time when the world was less connected, and one’s ability to travel was dictated more by wealth, status, and education. Think of a time when to pull off a trip to Japan you had to use a travel agent ($) to assist you in even figuring out what hotel to go to and how to get there. You’d rely on print magazines and books to even first decide where to go, and those only had so many pages to print. R…

There was a time when you didn't need a travel agent, but before the rise of social media and camera phones. Budget airlines like Easyjet and online travel agencies like Expedia were around a decade before the iPhone.

Re: Recommendations for Japan Travel

#192

Post by raylad »

rippercushions wrote: post #157
throwawaaarrgh wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tokyo is absurdly gigantic, I would not suggest randomly walking it. Also the subway system can be challenging, and the staff don't speak English, so if you get stuck they likely won't be able to help. Another random thing about the train system: there are women-only cars. I didn't realize this until I had already boarded and (as a man) I was absolutely mortified.

You really can't "get stuck" though. Carry a phone with Google Maps and get a Pasmo/Suica fare card, and it's easy to get back to your hotel from anywhere at all in the city.

If you don't have good or any phone service, organicmaps works well.

Re: Recommendations for Japan Travel

#193

Post by netsharc »

For some more inspiration, James May of Top Gear experienced the not-standard-tourist-stuff of Japan, although some of it is "he's from TV so he has access to things mere mortals don't": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JzeSxx0LC4

It's also charming to see Tokyo/Japan in the background of some Japanese YouTubers' videos, e.g. this one where they try to walk from a station to another but have to stop at every convenience store and roll a dice to get something: https://youtu.be/_yT32QAyv6s

Re: Recommendations for Japan Travel

#194

Post by packetslave »

spike021 wrote: post #171
throwawaaarrgh wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tokyo is absurdly gigantic, I would not suggest randomly walking it. Also the subway system can be challenging, and the staff don't speak English, so if you get stuck they likely won't be able to help. Another random thing about the train system: there are women-only cars. I didn't realize this until I had already boarded and (as a man) I was absolutely mortified.

When was the last time you were there? I went in 2019 and 2020 and it was really easy to get around. All stations have signage in English almost everywhere. Google maps says which exit / entrance to come in or leave from, even which car of the train you're on is closest to the path you need to get off. As for walking, you don't need to walk _everywhere_ but it really is cool to spend a few hours like OP said and just…

At least as of a few years ago, a lot of the Google Maps UI/feature work was done out of the Google Tokyo office, so it tends to be really useful there.

Re: Recommendations for Japan Travel

#195

Post by ncpa-cpl »

jleyank wrote: post #84

To use the physics sense, we found vacationing in Japan high friction . Yeah, it was totally different than anywhere we have been on n America or Western Europe. At times, it felt like we were looking at everything on the other side of a closed window, amazing yet inaccessible. This was ‘05 or earlier, and the lack of Roman lettering outside Kyoto was hard. Outrunning English has not been a problem elsewhere, but los…

> Outrunning English has not been a problem elsewhere, but losing the ability to read was hard

Losing the ability to read is really a hard but also interesting experience. It really felt like losing one sense. While main tourist spots had romanization, more local places did not.

On the other hand, not being able to read made me more aware of my surroundings.

Like observing what other people did before doing something myself. Or having to stop for a minute before entering a store or ordering from a food stall to recognize what was sold there. I also remember being less distracted by ads and signs.

Re: Recommendations for Japan Travel

#196

Post by ncpa-cpl »

Markoff wrote: post #117
jleyank wrote: post #84

To use the physics sense, we found vacationing in Japan high friction . Yeah, it was totally different than anywhere we have been on n America or Western Europe. At times, it felt like we were looking at everything on the other side of a closed window, amazing yet inaccessible. This was ‘05 or earlier, and the lack of Roman lettering outside Kyoto was hard. Outrunning English has not been a problem elsewhere, but los…

TIL people call Latin alphabet Roman lettering I always refer only to numerals as Roman, the alphabet/writing system always as Latin Btw your 2005 pre smartphone experience compared to nowadays is not relevant anymore with everyone having GPS maps and translator in hands even if no signage were changed, I sort of liked old times when you had to interact with locals, nowadays you can just stare at mobile and no need t…

There's the term romanization which is the word used when another writing system is converted to roman/latin letters

Re: Recommendations for Japan Travel

#197

Post by ncpa-cpl »

Markoff wrote: post #117
jleyank wrote: post #84

To use the physics sense, we found vacationing in Japan high friction . Yeah, it was totally different than anywhere we have been on n America or Western Europe. At times, it felt like we were looking at everything on the other side of a closed window, amazing yet inaccessible. This was ‘05 or earlier, and the lack of Roman lettering outside Kyoto was hard. Outrunning English has not been a problem elsewhere, but los…

TIL people call Latin alphabet Roman lettering I always refer only to numerals as Roman, the alphabet/writing system always as Latin Btw your 2005 pre smartphone experience compared to nowadays is not relevant anymore with everyone having GPS maps and translator in hands even if no signage were changed, I sort of liked old times when you had to interact with locals, nowadays you can just stare at mobile and no need t…

> I sort of liked old times when you had to interact with locals, nowadays you can just stare at mobile

Disconnecting from home is something harder to do now.

Back when I travelled in the late 2000s, early 2010s, I'd usually just do a three minute phone call home to let them know I arrived well, and perhaps send an email every couple days with one or two photos from a cyber cafe, later with the laptop from the hotel wifi.

From the late 2010s onwards, with roaming packages, local sim cards wifi even on flight is harder to disconnect without turning off notifications.

One one hand it's quite cool to make a video call to family from the other side of the world, but it also means that suddenly you'll end up dealing with day to day home stuff from a trans pacific flight.

Re: Recommendations for Japan Travel

#198

Post by rjh29 »

ValentineC wrote: post #158
ehnto wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Truly. Even if you want to land in Tokyo (since lots of flight deals take you there or Osaka). Grab the Rail Pass before you fly in, then take the bullet train to any number of cities. You'll enjoy relatively low-cost travel thanks to the rail pass, and you'll get to see a bunch of cities that aren't as popular.

> Grab the Rail Pass before you fly in This doesn't seem to be a must now that JR themselves is selling it online (though at a slightly higher price): https://japanrailpass.net/en/purchase.html

That's good to know. Last time I looked at agencies in my country, they were charging more than it costs to buy one in Japan!

Re: Recommendations for Japan Travel

#199

Post by spookthesunset »

throwawaaarrgh wrote: post #118
impendia wrote: post #58

Having lived in Japan for two years, what I'd add to this is to spend a lot of time walking, if physically able. For example, in my opinion the best way to explore Tokyo is to simply leave your hotel in the morning, wander around all day, and stop anywhere and everywhere that looks interesting. The excellent mass transit system means that it won't be a problem to get back. In more rural parts of Japan, there are sign…

Tokyo is absurdly gigantic, I would not suggest randomly walking it. Also the subway system can be challenging, and the staff don't speak English, so if you get stuck they likely won't be able to help. Another random thing about the train system: there are women-only cars. I didn't realize this until I had already boarded and (as a man) I was absolutely mortified.

That is what you have a backup for. When I was in Tokyo google maps and it’s transit info was all I needed.

I have no clue how anybody could navigate that city without something like Google Maps.

Re: Recommendations for Japan Travel

#200

Post by patio11 »

zerocrates wrote: post #183
roobs wrote: post #15

I'm not sure when this post was originally written, but at a quick glance I can see some mentioned stores/restaurants that have since unfortunately shut down (like Deus Ex Machina which I used to frequent when it was in Harajuku but has since moved about 45 minutes away to Asakusa). This might not be the most up-to-date resource if you're visiting Japan in the future. Also, this list specifically recommends the APA h…

He posted mentioning this on Twitter quite recently so I think the post itself is new, but the content within may not be.

I was surprised Deus Ex had shut down, but it is not exactly like they had an obligation to send me a memo.
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